California to become first U.S. state mandating solar on new homes

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A worker sets a final photovoltaic panel in place atop a house in KB Home’s Caraway at Terramore development south of Corona. Virtually all new homes in California will have to have similar “PV” panels starting in 2020 under proposed rules state energy officials are expected to approve May 9. “It’s no surprise for us,” said Jacob Atalla, KB Home’s vice president of sustainability initiatives. State officials, Atalla said, “have been preparing for it for several years by ramping up the (building) code.” (Photo by Will Lester- The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Workers for SunPower Corp. install solar panels on the roofs new houses at KB Home’s Terramore development in Riverside County. Solar systems like these will become standard by 2020 on virtually all new California homes under a proposed new energy code up for review in Sacramento on May 9. (Photo by Will Lester- The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

A hawk surveys the installation of solar panels at KB Home’s Terramore development south of Corona. Panels like these would be required for virtually all California homes by 2020 under a proposed new building code. “It may not be full zero net energy, but we have left the rest of the country in the dust,” said Bob Raymer, technical director for the California Building Industry Association. (Photo by Will Lester- The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

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Tiles await installation atop a new house in KB Home’s Terramore development in Riverside County while a SunPower Corp. employee installs new solar panels there. Many builders like KB Home have been offering solar packages for years. But solar would become standard by 2020 under energy provisions up for a vote in Sacramento on May 9. KB Home estimates it has built 6,000 “ZeroHomes” since 2012. (Photo by Will Lester- The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

A SunPower employee completes installation of solar panels at KB Home’s Terramore development in western Riverside County. Solar systems like this would become standard at new homes throughout California if state officials adopt proposed new energy standards. “California is about to take a quantum leap in energy standards,” said Bob Raymer, senior engineer for the California Building Industry Association. (Photo by Will Lester- The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

A SunPower employee installs rooftop solar panels on a new house under construction in KB Home’s Terramore development near the 15 freeway south of Corona. California is on the verge of becoming the first state in the nation mandating solar power be included in all new homes built after Jan. 1, 2020. “Innovations and sustainability has been at the heart of our business for many years,” said Jacob Atalla, KB Home’s vice president of sustainability initiatives. (Photo by Will Lester- The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Wearing a safety tether, a SunPower worker attaches wiring to a newly installed solar panel at a KB Home development in Riverside County. Homes like these already meet proposed state energy standards mandating virtually all new houses, condos and apartments up to three stories tall have solar power starting in 2020. A building industry official estimates that 20 perent or fewer new California houses now have solar. New standards adopted over the past eight years also increased the energy efficiency of California homes. (Photo by Will Lester- The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

A worker sets a final photovoltaic panel in place atop a house in KB Home’s Caraway at Terramore development south of Corona. Virtually all new homes in California will have to have similar “PV” panels starting in 2020 under proposed rules state energy officials are expected to approve May 9. “It’s no surprise for us,” said Jacob Atalla, KB Home’s vice president of sustainability initiatives. State officials, Atalla said, “have been preparing for it for several years by ramping up the (building) code.” (Photo by Will Lester- The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

SunPower workers install solar panels on the roofs of homes under construction at KB Home’s Terramore development south of Corona. Although state energy officials seek to mandate solar on virtually all new California homes starting in 2020, the state is backing away from a 10-year-old goal of making all new homes “net zero,” meaning they would generate as much energy as they consume. Net zero doesn’t focus on the need to reduce fossil fuel emissions, state officials said. “The next frontier should be near-zero net emissions rather than zero net energy, said Pierre Delforge, energy efficiency program director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. (Photo by Will Lester- The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Fewer solar panels will be required on new California homes by 2020 than originally planned under a proposed new building code. The state has abandoned the goal of making all new homes “zero net energy” by 2020, partly because it’s not cost-effective and partly because zero net energy is at odds with goals to reduce fossil fuel emissions. “Zero-net energy isn’t enough,” said Andrew McAllister, one of five state energy commissioners voting May 9 on new homebuilding energy standards mandating solar on new homes by 2020. (Photo by Will Lester- The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

High atop a new house in KB Home’s Terramore development in Riverside County, a SunPower worker readies another solar panel for installation. The California Energy Commission is scheduled to vote May 9 on new standards mandating that virtually all new California homes have solar systems by 2020. But the state is abandoning a long-term goal of making homes “net zero.” Said KB Home sustainability Vice President Jacob Atalla: “You’ve got to start treating (solar) less as a luxury and more as a commodity.” (Photo by Will Lester- The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

A SunPower employee completes installation of solar panels at KB Home’s Terramore development in Riverside County. Solar systems like this would become standard at new homes throughout California if state officials adopt proposed new energy standards. “California is about to take a quantum leap in energy standards,” said Bob Raymer, technical director for the California Building Industry Association. (Photo by Will Lester- The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

A worker with SunPower Corp. installs solar panels on the roof of a house in KB Home’s Caraway at Terramore development south of Corona. State energy officials are expected to adopt new building standards making California the first state in the nation to mandate solar be installed on most new homes built in the state starting in 2020. (Photo by Will Lester- The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Photovoltaic panels like these would become standard on new California homes starting in 2020 under a proposed new energy code up for review in Sacramento on May 9. Currently about 15 percent to 20 percent of new houses in the state have solar power systems, a state building industry officials said. Here a SunPower Corp. employee finishes up installation of new solar panels at KB Home’s Terramore development in Riverside County. (Photo by Will Lester- The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Photovoltaic panels like these would become standard on new California homes starting in 2020 under a proposed new energy code up for review in Sacramento on May 9. Currently about 15 percent to 20 percent of new houses in the state have solar power systems, a state building industry officials said. Here a SunPower Corp. employee finishes up installation of new solar panels at KB Home’s Terramore development in Riverside County. (Photo by Will Lester- The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Proposed new energy standards up for review May 9 in Sacramento would mandate solar panels like these be installed on virtually all new California homes by 2020. However, the state is abandoning a long-term goal of requiring all new homes achieve “net zero” status, partly because it’s not cost-effective and partly because the goal is at odds with the need to reduce fossil fuel emissions, state officials said. “Net energy metering” rules also don’t require utilities to compensate customers for extra solar power generated to offset natural gas used in the home. (Photo by Will Lester- The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Photovoltaic panels like these would become standard on new California homes starting in 2020 under a proposed new energy code up for review in Sacramento on May 9. Currently about 15 percent to 20 percent of new houses in the state have solar power systems, a state building industry officials said. Here a SunPower Corp. employee finishes up installation of new solar panels at KB Home’s Terramore development in Riverside County. (Photo by Will Lester- The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Workers install solar panels at KB Home’s Caraway at Terramore housing development. The company has built about 6,000 “ZeroHomes,” most of them in California over the past six years. That represents about 12 percent of all KB Home residences sold. The California Energy Commission is expected to vote on May 6 on new standards mandating virtually all homes built in the state have solar panels starting in 2020. (Photo by Will Lester- The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

The proposed new rules would deviate slightly from another much-heralded objective: Requiring all new homes be “net-zero,” meaning they would produce enough solar power to offset all electricity and natural gas consumed over the course of a year.

New thinking has made that goal obsolete, state officials say. True “zero-net-energy” homes still rely on the electric power grid at night, they explained, a time when more generating plants come online using fossil fuels to generate power.

“Zero net energy isn’t enough,” said Andrew McAllister, one of five state energy commissioners voting on the new homebuilding standards. “If we pursue (zero net energy) as a comprehensive policy, we’d be making investments that would be somewhat out of touch with our long-term goals.”

While environmentalists and homebuilders praised the new standards, the proposed rules have some detractors who still support net-zero goals.

All-electric homes

In addition to widespread adoption of solar power, the new provisions include a push to increase battery storage and increase reliance on electricity over natural gas. Among the highlights:

The new solar mandate would apply to all houses, condos and apartment buildings up to three stories tall that obtain building permits after Jan. 1, 2020.

Exceptions or alternatives will be allowed when homes are shaded by trees or buildings or when the home’s roofs are too small to accommodate solar panels.

Solar arrays can be smaller because homes won’t have to achieve true net-zero status.

Builders installing batteries like the Tesla Powerwall would get “compliance credits,” allowing them to further reduce the size of the solar system.

Provisions will encourage more electric use or even all-electric homes to reduce natural gas consumption. State officials say improved technology is making electric water heaters increasingly cost-effective.

The mandate dates back to 2007 when the state energy commission adopted the goal of making homebuilding so efficient “newly constructed buildings can be net zero energy by 2020 for residences and by 2030 for commercial buildings.”

Builders would prefer the state move slower in imposing the solar mandate, but most nonetheless should be prepared by mid-2020, said the Building Industry Association’s Raymer.

Meritage Homes currently installs solar on about 10 percent of its homes, and about 1 percent of them are net zero, a company official said. A KB Home official said his firm has built more than 6,000 solar homes in the past seven years, mostly in California. That’s 12 percent of the 49,600 homes KB Home sold in that period.

The new energy standards add about $25,000 to $30,000 to the construction costs compared with homes built to the 2006 code, said C.R. Herro, Meritage’s vice president of environmental affairs. Solar accounts for about $14,000 to $16,000 of that cost, with increased insulation and more efficient windows, appliances, lighting and heating accounting for another $10,000 to $15,000.

But that $25,000 to $30,000 will result in $50,000 to $60,000 in the owner’s reduced operating costs over the 25-year life of the home’s solar system, Herro said.

Bill Watt, a homebuilder and design consultant, said those added costs – on top of other building mandates like fire sprinklers – are pushing home prices further out of reach for many buyers.

“We’re not building enough housing already,” said Watt, former president of the Orange County Building Industry Association. “Why not just pause for a little while, focus on the affordability and housing issues, then circle back?”

Environmentalists, however, praised the new standards.

“The technology is developing so fast, we think the timeline was a bit slow,” said Kathryn Phillips, director of Sierra Club California.

Pierre Delforge, energy efficiency program director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, called the proposed update “another important step toward the environmentally-friendly, healthy and affordable home of the future.”

Why not zero?

While net-zero remains an admirable goal, getting there is not yet cost-effective, state officials and experts said. And it fails to address the state’s ultimate goal of curbing global warming.

Because electric utilities now rely on renewable energy for much of their power, daytime energy already is quite clean, said McAllister, the lead state commissioner on energy efficiency.

At night when there’s no solar power, people come home, turn on the lights, the TV and possibly the air conditioning and start pulling power from the grid, he said. Some gas-powered generating plants then are fired up to help meet that additional load, boosting carbon emissions.

“That additional (home-generated) solar kilowatt-hour isn’t worth very much because it’s displacing what is already clean energy,” McAllister said. “That net-zero home is not a net-carbon-zero home.”

For more than a decade, Jeff Collins has followed housing and real estate, covering market booms and busts and all aspects of the real estate industry. He has been tracking rents and home prices, and has explored solutions to critical problems such as Southern California’s housing shortage and affordability crisis. Before joining the Orange County Register in 1990, he covered a wide range of topics for daily newspapers in Kansas, El Paso and Dallas. A Southern California native, he studied at UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine. He later earned a master’s degree from the USC School of Journalism.